He sighed and opened the front door.
Rafe and Parker’s apartment, Bo’s temporary home, smelled delicious. The scent of grilling meat wafted in from the terrace where the barbecue was set up. He could hear the sound of laughter and hum of conversation but headed the other way. Taking a shower would not only wash the day off but limit the amount of time he had to socialise. Bo’s room didn’t have an ensuite, so he grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom. Soon steam filled the room and hot water pounded his body, but despite the relaxing water massage, and calming shower gel, he was still tense. Just the knowledge that Harvey and Rav were out there had him on edge.
It had been bad enough dealing with the breakup of his relationship with Ravi, no matter how new and fragile their relationship had been, but he’d also been confronted by his never-ending crush on Harvey—the reason he’d broken up with Ravi in the first place. He loved Rav, he did, but how could he have a relationship with him when he couldn’t get Harvey out of his head. He and Rav had parted on good terms, but their friendship had never been the same.
I can do this. I can do this.He repeated the mantra in his head as he dressed. He slipped into tight jeans that showed off his arse, and a fitted turquoise T-shirt that brought out the blue in his eyes. His armour, he told himself. He wanted to look good to give himself confidence, not because he wanted to impress anyone. So why did that feel like such a lie? He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair giving the blond strands a final tousle. He couldn’t put it off any longer and headed out to the party.
“Hey, Bo, glad you could make it,” Rafe said, immediately passing him a beer.
“How was your shift?” Parker asked.
“Yeah, not so bad. It’s good to know I have tomorrow off.” Bo took a sip of beer, tentatively glancing around the terrace.
Rav and Harvey sat next to each other at the table, heads close in conversation. He was glad their backs were to him, and he had a minute to compose himself. Their closeness, and the way they were always touching, did strange things to him.
“I don’t know how you do it.” Parker said. “I much prefer my job where I can work from home and make my own hours rather than having to stick to a roster.”
“You get used to it. I couldn’t do what you do in a million years. I much prefer the variety of dealing with the demands of the ward.”
“Rather you than me,” Rafe said with a full body shiver. “All that blood and guts. Yuck.”
Bo chuckled. “Don’t forget the vomit and poop.” He always got a hard time about the grosser aspects of his job, but in truth, he loved being able to help people in their hour of need, even if it meant changing soiled bedlinen and cleaning up bodily fluids.
Parker and Rafe wandered over to the outdoor setting leaving Bo no choice but to follow.
“Hi, guys,” he said to Harvey and Rav, plastering on a smile, and making an effort to appear relaxed.
They jumped apart. Bo couldn’t tell who’d moved first but both of them looked uncomfortable.Damn.This is what he hated—the tense atmosphere that seemed to plague them now when they all used to be such good friends. Even after his one-night stand with Harvey, he hadn’t felt this level of unease.
Ravi recovered first. “Just got home?”
“Yeah, I worked the early shift and went to the gym after.” He gestured to the cheeseboard and bowl of salad on the table. “Looks like I missed all the hard work.”
“Not all of it,” Parker said, laughing. “You can cook the steaks.”
Bo grimaced. “I can cope with blood and guts at work but I’m not barbecuing you a slab of beef.”
“He’s just teasing, Bo,” Rafe said. “We got you the haloumi and other ingredients you asked for. Ravi said he’s going meat-free tonight too.”
“Yeah?” Bo raised a brow toward Ravi. When they’d been dating, he’d been trying to introduce him to some vegetarian dishes.
Ravi shrugged. “I like a bit of variety every now and then.”
Harvey leaned across the table and whispered conspiratorially. “Don’t tell him I told you but Rav’s not a very good cook.”
Ravi elbowed him in the ribs. “And Harvey only knows how to grill steak and make a salad. If it was left up to the two of us, we’d either starve or die of boredom. Thank God for home delivery.”
Bo waggled his brows at Harvey. “It looks like you’re the tongmaster then.”
Harvey groaned.
“You fell right into that one,” Parker said and laughed. “Come on, and we’ll start the barbie.”
“I’d better get started on the haloumi then.” Bo stood.
“I’ll give you a hand,” Ravi said, “you can show me how you make it.”
He climbed to his feet before Bo could protest.Oh, well.“Sure. It won’t take long.”
